Rio de Janeiro, Foz do Iguaçu, Buenos Aires & Calafate

Discover a little of Brazilian and Argentinean culture in a single trip. You will unlock the wonderful city of Rio de Janeiro, visit the magnificent waterfalls of Foz do Iguaçu: Brazilian and Argentinean sides, the Paris of South America: Buenos Aires and El Calafate, in the Patagonian tundra with its splendid glaciers. 

Rio de Janeiro, commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, 6th largest in the Americas, and 26th in the world... . It’s the most visited city in the southern hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival celebration, samba, Bossa Nova and less but not least its beaches. Rio is inhabited by a colorful mixture of European, African and native peoples. They are a friendly bunch and are always ready for a chat and a cold beer. Rio has a tropical climate with an average temperature of 26C.  

Foz do Iguaçu makes up the border with Argentina and Paraguay, but its main attraction is without any doubt the majestic waterfalls. The Falls of Iguaçu are classified world heritage by Unesco since 1986 and are a must for the nature lover. They are the most impressive waterfalls in the world and also the biggest and are the result of the confluence of the rivers Parana and Iguacu. The water body plunges  65 m. deep, over a 4 km wide geological crack where it comes thundering down with an ear deafening sound  into a natural amphitheater. Foz do Iguacu has a sub-tropical climate with temperatures that can plummet to -5C during the European summer and that can reach as high as  40C during the European winter.

Buenos Aires is a vibrant city, known for its art, culture, nightlife and friendly citizens. You have to impression of strolling through a European city and that’s where the name: “Paris of South America” has its origin: whine, tango, belle époque are omnipresent. Its South America’s most populated  city after Sao Paulo and its port is one of the continent’s most important. The inhabitants or “Portenos” are mostly of Spanish and Italian origin and they are off course convinced they have the best football team in the world. Buenos Aires has a humid sub tropical climate and has 4 well defined seasons with temperatures ranging anywhere from 8C to 30C.

El Calafate lies in the Southwestern tip of Patagonia close to the Chilean border. The little village is located on the banks of the gigantic lake Argentino, in the bedding of what once was an enormous glacier covering the whole region. Today there are still remainders of this once enormous and some of them advance some 30 cm a day and all of them end their lives in the Lago Argentino, which gives us the opportunity to get close to these wonders of nature during our excursions. This is certainly an important visit since it confronts us directly with today’s climate change issues. El Calafate has steppe climate with cool to hot, dry summers and cool to very cold winters with very little precipitation the year through. Temperatures can reach -5C during European summers.